"I believe there will be violent fighting, the end of which we do not know," a top Syrian Democratic Council official told Newsweek.

Will he walk the walk and not just talk the talk? And if he doesn’t win in the elections, will he peacefully stand aside for whoever does win?” one analyst said.

Years of strife ruined the energy sector, battered the currency and strangled growth. The West must ease financial controls to help the economy, experts say.

The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule. While there have been bursts of deadly sectarian violence in the days since Assad was ousted,

A Pentagon spokesman said the increase was unrelated to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad to rebel forces in early December.

A senior delegation of U.S. diplomats arrived in Syria to meet with the new de facto rulers, looking to understand more about how they intend to govern.

Turkey expects foreign countries will withdraw support for Kurdish fighters in Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, President Tayyip Erdogan said, as Ankara seeks to isolate Kurds who have long fought alongside U.

After public protests and then rebellion erupted in Syria in 2011, Assad’s regime clung to power through systemic torture and relentless military campaigns with support from Iran, Russia, and an array of allied militias.

Senior U.S. diplomats visit Damascus, as Washington and Brussels weigh lifting sanctions against the country’s transitional government.

In an unexpected turn of events, the United States has lifted a $10 million bounty on the leader of Syria’s interim government, a figure previously associated with extremist groups. This decision came after U.